The business and culture of our digital lives, from the L.A. Times

Google gives all employees 10% raises

Holiday cheer arrived early at Google, which is giving its more than 23,000 employees a 10% raise starting in January.

Employees are also getting $1,000 cash bonuses with Google picking up the taxes. They got the news in an e-mail from Chief Executive Eric Schmidt.

"We believe we have the best employees in the world," Schmidt wrote.

Apparently everyone else agrees. Google, which has long been a hub for some of the smartest people in Silicon Valley, is under siege from Facebook and other companies in a bruising war for talent.

Google's chief financial officer, Patrick Pichette, called the market for recruiting new talent “exceptionally competitive” during a third-quarter earnings call. Google hired more than 1,500 people during the quarter, in which it posted strong results